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Tuesday, May 22, 2012

How I Track Headstone Pictures

At the moment, Family Tree Maker does not have a way to generate a REPORT based on Media Categories, at least that I have found. I have all of my Headstone pictures in a Category I created called Cemetery.

I am an active contributor to Find-A-Grave. If I take a photo of a headstone, I post it on Find-A-Grave, and if the person is in my file, I link that photo to a Citation.

There are options here, Which Citation?

I chose to create a Custom Fact called "Find-A-Grave". I use the Description Only format, and it will contain only the Memorial Number for that person. One reason is for this report but the second and more important is that I don't have to look around for that Memorial Number, if I created the Memorial and want to link other family members to it. Spouse, Parents, Children, etc. That number if right in front of me, in my file. I can also request that the owner of the Memorial create the link between people.

Why, I have one ancestor, that through Find-A-Grave, has a 4 generation link. My Great-Grandfather down to a cousin of my generation. So, someone looking just on Find-A-Grave, can see the relationship (but I digress).

I use the Burial Fact, for the Place and put the Cemetery Name into the Burial Description. This allows for sorting for this report, especially where there are multiple cemeteries on a specific Place Name and I use the Place Name Authority to ensure that place names are consistent. I also use the Find-A-Grave Cemetery Name, as they would have a Cemetery Name conflict situation if they weren't consistent.

Here is an example: Buried in West Chester Pennsylvania, and the Birmingham-Lafayette Cemetery.

Below that is the Find-A-Grave Fact, with the number, but notice the Lock ICON on the Left End of that line. That means that the Find-A-Grave FACT is a Private Fact. This Fact would not show up in the Ancestry Member Tree, for example, nor in normal Reports. It's important to me, but not to others.

Notice the Right End of that Line. 1, 1, 0. One Citation, One Media file, and Zero Notes. Looking at the Media Tab, it the headstone Image from Find-A-Grave. It is one that I took and it on the Find-A-Grave website for this person.

That as background. I am going to that Cemetery for other relatives. I have a couple of images that I downloaded from Find-A-Grave and want to replace that downloaded image with one of my own. If I can't get to a cemetery, because of distance, I will ask permission of the photographer, through Find-A-Grave, to have that image in my file.

Here is how I set up this report. (set up one time, but can use at any time). I went to the Publish Workspace, Person Collection, Custom Report, and clicked on Individuals to Include, and Filter In >. I only want information on those that have a Fact called Find-A-Grave. The All Facts item is selected (below), then in the pull down menu, selected Find-A-Grave, and select Any Data, Exists. So anyone with the Find-A-Grave Fact, will be included in the Report.

Now everyone with the Find-A-Grave Fact will be in the report. In this case, there are 49 people with the Find-A-Grave fact.

I want this sorted by the Burial Fact, Place then Cemetery (or Description), but include the Name and the Find-A-Grave fact. You will remember that I marked the Find-A-Grave Fact as Private, so the "Include private facts" item, must have a Check mark AFTER selecting Find-A-Grave Options at the bottom of that box. Each Fact has its one settings that can override the default setting for the report. The other two Facts, in this report, would NOT have the check mark in that box, only Find-A-Grave.

Here is what the report looks like Again sorted by Place, then by Description.

BUT, I want to use this report again and don't want to have to redo this each time I want the report.

The ICON, on the far Right, is the Save Report ICON (Just above the red box). The report title I entered was Find-A-Grave Report. Clicking on the Save Report ICON will bring up the Save Report screen and FTM2012 will put that Report Title into that report name.

The next time that I want that report, I click on the Saved Report Collection, and select Find-A-Grave Report.

NOTE: As you add Find-A-Grave Facts, the Select Individuals step, at the top of this blog, will have to be redone. That is, selecting everyone with any data in the Find-A-Grave Fact.
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Where to get Help

A Blog is not a very helpful place to troubleshoot a problem with Family Tree Maker. There is plenty of help, in the Help Menu of the program that is specific to where you are in the program; In the Help Menu, there is a link to the Knowledge Base website, called Online Help Center.